After serving 16 months in prison, the White former suburban Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot Black motorist Duante Wright was released Monday (April 24), prompting a fresh outpouring of outrage and dismay.

A jury convicted Kim Potter in December 2021 on two counts of manslaughter for what she claimed was an error in mistaking her handgun for a Taser. The judge gave her a two-year sentence – 16 months behind bars and the rest on probrations. Prosecutors had demanded a much longer sentence.

CBS Minnesota reports that Potter was released at 4 a.m., “a time we felt was safest for her and and for everyone at the correctional facility,” a timing decision based on intelligence information, the state corrections department said.

The April 11, 2021 shooting took place during the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted on April 20, 2021, of murdering George Floyd almost a year prior. Wright’s death ignited demonstrations and demands for justice for the 20-year-old father.

“The outrageous release of Kim Potter, the police officer who killed Duante Wright In Minnesota is an insult to all Americans who believe in justice,” civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton tweeted. “I did the eulogy at Duante’s funeral, and I said then and repeat now that Potter should face the full weight of the law.”

Katie Wright, Daunte Wright’s mother, told CNN that she was “dreading” Potter’s release on Monday and has had trouble finding peace.

“Some say I should forgive to be at peace but how can I? I am so angry. She is going to be able to watch her kids have kids and be able to touch them. I am always scared I am going to forget my son’s voice. It gave us some sense of peace knowing she would not be able to hold her sons. She has two. I can’t hold my son,” Katie Wright said.

Wright was driving his car along a road in Brooklyn Center, Minn., when he was pulled over by police for expired tags. When they realized he also had warrants out for his arrest, officers attempted to handcuff him.

But Potter’s body camera shows that when he attempted to get back into his car, she shouted “taser, taser,” but instead of using the device, she pulled her service revolver and fired it. He reentered his car and drove away but crashed into another car not far from the scene and was pronounced dead.

At her sentencing hearing, prosecutors said Wright should face a sentence above the state’s guidelines because she abused her authority as a police officer and endangered others when she fired her weapon, the Associated Press reported.

She faced a maximum sentence of 15 years under Minnesota statutes. But for someone like Potter with no criminal history, sentencing guidelines ranged from just more than six years to about 8 1/2 years, with a likely sentence of slightly over seven years.

In handing down a 16-month sentence plus probation, Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu said she was aware that her decision would get an angry response.

"I recognize there will be those who disagree with this sentence. That I granted a significant downward departure does not in any way diminish Daunte Wright's life," she stated from the bench.